The teen years at camp were full of summer romances. Those were the days when holding hands with a girl was a big deal! First, you'd ask her to sit with you in the evening service. Then, after the service you would walk her round-and-round the campground talking and laughing. Sometimes you would stop for a few minutes at the dark end of the camp. If you were lucky, you'd get some kisses!
Some would slip off the road and up onto the ballfield (not me, of course). We were all trying to escape the superintendent and others assigned to safe-guard our activity. The 'Ping-Pong' tent was another good get-away spot! Being caught in the dorms together could get you sent home - so not many tried that!
The tents themselves were quite a novelty at camp; they were made of canvass and were held up by wooden poles! I can remember helping Joe Cowsert load the wood floors and set them up before camp. Then we'd haul out the tents and start setting them up - it was a huge job! I can remember them lining the main road into the camp on both sides. Some have told me that the tabernacle side of the road once held two rows of tents.
They were about six feet apart. Running between them was dangerous because of all the ropes. Quite a few youth were clothes-lined by trying to do that to escape the superintendent! Way back, the tents had water, electric, and even gas hook-ups. Some people turned them into very comfortable dwellings. Then, of course, after camp they had to be dismantled and stored away for another year.
These were different days. All the cottages had water, electric, and gas hook-ups too. Many chose to cook in their tents or cottages rather than buy their meals at the dining hall. It was a different day, marked by significantly less affluence. Camp was the only vacation that many families took! It was a delightful ten days with programming for children, youth, and adults. People rarely left the campground.
The afternoon softball game was a huge event. Thirteen was the all-important cut-off age for playing. We couldn't wait for that birthday. Woe to the poor kid who turned thirteen right after camp! :-( Lots of people came to watch the game. The store brought pop up to the ballfield to sell it to the fans. Everyone cheered and delighted in the fun of sports and just being together !
These were good days that still mark many of our memories. The memories being made today are just as precious.
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